Kondō

(noun)

Usually the main hall of a Buddhist temple (literally "golden hall"), which started to be used during the Asuka and Nara periods.

Related Terms

Examples of Kondō in the following topics:

  • Horyuji Temple

    • The western part of the temple contains the Kondō (sanctuary hall) and the temple's five-story pagoda.
    • One of the most notable is its layout: while most Japanese temples of the period were arranged like their Chinese and Korean prototypes—with the main gate, a pagoda, the main hall, and the lecture hall on a straight line—the reconstructed Hōryū-ji breaks from those patterns by arranging the Kondō (main hall) and pagoda side by side in the courtyard.
    • The kondō, located side-by-side to the pagoda in Sai-in, is another one of the oldest wood buildings extant in the world.
    • The two-storied kondō is another one of the oldest wood buildings extant in the world.

  • The Battle of Midway

    • Spruance decisively defeated an attacking fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy under Admirals Isoroku Yamamoto, Chuichi Nagumo, and Nobutake Kondo near Midway Atoll, inflicting devastating damage on the Japanese fleet that proved irreparable.